Most of the Industrial Age mills being redeveloped throughout the state were not built originally to be attractive for the factory workers filtering in and out of the buildings each day.
But now that the mills are being re-used for residential and commercial uses, developers of the buildings have a challenge. How do they make them look appealing to the tenants or buyers they are hoping to attract?
Some developers are creating unique communal spaces. Some are incorporating art into the design. Others are adding landscaping to soften the buildings. And some say cleaning the exterior, replacing windows and preserving the mill feel is enough.
“When people want to live in an 1890s mill … what they’re buying is a sense of authenticity and connection,” said Lance Robbins, principal of Urban Smart Growth, which is redeveloping several industrial properties in the state, including the former Hope Webbing mill in Pawtucket.
Though the Los Angeles-based developer has added softening touches such as landscaping along the front of that 13-acre site, Robbins said, the mill buildings were designed to maximize natural light and ventilation before there was incandescent lighting and air conditioning, so they have beautiful windows.
“That’s the characteristic that makes them attractive,” he said.
Len Lavoie, who manages and has redeveloped nine mills in Pawtucket and Providence, had a similar view about adding curb appeal to the mills’ appearance.
“You have to remember the market,” Lavoie said. “They are looking to rent mill space … the ideal situation is to make it look the way it did before.”
That’s where Lavoie’s company, Rhode Island Commercial Industry Realty, succeeded with the mills at 560 Mineral Spring Ave. in Pawtucket, he said, adding that he was less preoccupied with beautifying the outside because the use is strictly for artist work studios and other creative small business studios.
“I hate to ruin the character of a building by gussying it up with things that never would have been there,” he said.
Sometimes developers don’t have a choice.
If they are utilizing state or historic tax credits, developers must adhere to guidelines that restrict making changes that are not consistent with the buildings’ original architecture and purpose, said Dana Newbrook, architect and president of ai Designs Ltd. in Pawtucket.
The U.S. Department of the Interior and R.I. Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission, which oversees historical properties and administers the state historic preservation tax credit, generally dictate what changes are allowed, said Newbrook, whose firm worked on Hope Artiste Village, as the renovated mill is known.
“They tell us what we can and cannot do,” he said.
Often ai Designs will create a new entrance canopy or structure that fits with the design of the building, he added, but that’s usually as much as the rigid requirements will allow, at least for new structures.
But sometimes the shape of a mill building will allow for the creation of unique space inside.
That was true for the mixed-use Royal Mills complex in West Warwick.
“I’ve never done a mill rehab where you got to carve out the center,” said Nick Kane, project manager for The Architectural Team in Chelsea, Mass., which worked with developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc. on the project.
Because of the shape and size of the site’s Ace Dyeing Building, the architects were able to create grassy courtyards in the center that are open to the sky, Kane said. Of course, those changes had to be approved by preservation authorities, but because they didn’t change the outside appearance of the building, they were allowed.
On the outside, Struever Bros. enhanced the river that runs through the complex by creating a riverwalk on either side that actually provides public access and will eventually link to the city’s development of a riverwalk farther down the Pawtuxet River.
Though Kane has seen riverwalks incorporated into mill rehabs before, he said, this is the first time he’s seen a developer foot the bill.
Quentin Chafee, project developer for Struever Bros., said the gathering places were created for the building’s tenants to build community. That is particularly important, he noted, because unlike some of Struever’s other mill rehab projects, Royal Mills is mostly residential, so it lacks opportunities for, say, a restaurant to serve as a gathering place.
Incorporating communal space was also important in the design of The Plant in Olneyville.
An open courtyard in the center of the complex was created by removing the roof that covered it, said Kevin O’Neil, project manager for Boston-based ICON Architecture Inc., which worked on the mill rehab with Puente, a nonprofit community development firm, and Struever Bros.
The courtyard has the dual function of creating more light for the live/work residents.
“Because The Plant was mainly geared toward artists, we could actually be a little more funky with it,” O’Neil said.
The architects decided to install corrugated aluminum cladding to one side of a new building they added to the site because of fire damage that had occurred in years past.
“It actually does give it a contemporary feel but still has that industrial look,” O’Neil said.
The Plant also incorporated a steel vine-and-leaf sculpture, created by a local artist, which winds around the site’s only smokestack. Puente was able to get approval because the artwork could be removed without harming the smokestack.
But adding landscaping is a challenge, O’Neil said.
“These mills never really had any landscaping,” he said. “The landscape architect did a simple plan … added some trees to soften it a little, but it’s not your typical landscaping.”
The hardscape, including parking lots, paved courtyards and buildings, of the mills does make designing landscaping a challenge, said Randy Collins, executive vice president of Gates, Leighton & Associates Inc., a landscape architecture firm based in East Providence.
“It’s usually not big sweeping green spaces,” he said. “But you try to get the green spaces … to work in harmony with the building and become another structural element.”
And sometimes the firm looks beyond the landscape options and uses the hardscape to enhance the site, Collins said. For Struever Bros.’ American Locomotive Works project in Providence, for example, the firm recreated a test track for cars that used to wind around the site.
“In all mill projects it’s a balancing act because of the reuse,” Collins said. “There are environmental concerns and regulations to consider. You have to come up with a design fitting to the site.” •
